Mountain Biking on Mt. Etna

We left the port of Civitavechia on very rough seas, but sometime during the night the sea calmed so we enjoyed our 11 a.m. arrival in the port of Messina, Sicily.

Our excursion for the first day of our cruise was Mountain Biking Mount Etna with Canoli Tasting.  This was the first excursion we chose and we were really looking forward to riding on an active volcano!  Not many brave souls joined us - a total of 13 cruisers were in our van with our guide, Sarah, and driver, Salvatore.  It was about an hour drive, and Sarah was a perfect mix of sharing information but not talking endlessly.  Salvatore was an excellent driver in spite of traffic and a very windy mountain road.  During our drive, we saw smoke on Mt. Etna and knew an eruption was taking place.

The top of Mt. Etna is an elevation of just over 10,000 feet.  We drove almost half way up and met our cycling tour at  Rifugio Ragabo at 4600 feet.

We were shown our bikes and told to give them a test ride in the parking lot.  Most of us needed a seat adjustment, but then we were ready to go.  As ready to go as we could be...

Our two guides, Una and Sergio, are mountain bike racers and they greatly overestimated our abilities.  We started riding and it was like watching a bunch of toddlers run around in a circle. As soon as the first one goes down, they all go down - like dominoes!  Nobody actually went down, but there were many false starts before we got spread out and into somewhat of a rhythm.

We quickly started climbing.  Up, up, up.  At one point everyone but our guides and Les were walking our bikes!  We regrouped and starting climbing again...

Hi Una!

When we took off again, Les made sure he was at the front to avoid the dominoes.  I tried to stay close to him and actually got in a good climbing mode.  At our next regroup, only Una, Les, and one other guy were there before me.

Unfortunately, several of the group were back to walking their bikes again so the decision was made to turn around and look for an "easier" route.  Riding downhill?  No problem, right?  Wrong!  Remember, we were on an active volcano.  While no lava was currently flowing our way, the terrain was very tough.  It started with small gravel, then we made a turn to our "easier" route and the trail was full of large rocks and roots.  I had to walk for about half a mile and could barely stay upright just walking my bike!

The remainder of the ride was full of starts and stops for me.  I am a cautious rider and try to keep space between me and the rider ahead of me.  Unfortunately, it became crystal clear that most of our group had never actually ridden a mountain bike before.  They had no awareness of those around them and would just stop in the middle of the trail, which meant whoever was behind them would have to stop because there was no way to safely ride around them.  Once again, the toddler domino effect!  We were very fortunate that no one was seriously hurt.  As far as I know, only one person actually went down but she was okay.  I will say, Una and Sergio were extremely patient with all of us. 

After 5.18 miles and a little over 800 feet of climbing, we were back to Rifugio Ragabo.   Una, Sergio, and the bike company owner, Daniello, were very open to our comments and helpful criticism.  I think the real problem was how the ride was described on the cruise website.  "Enjoy an exhilarating mountain bike ride on Mt. Etna, the highest active volcano in Europe."  Sounds fun, right?

Here's where the problem came from.  Every excursion that Les and I booked was labeled "strenuous," including this one.  All of our other tours were walking tours that included walking over "varying terrain."  One of the riders coined the phrase "cruise strenuous."  I think that's what we all were expecting, not real life strenuous!  We told Daniello they needed to look for a slightly easier route and the description needed to say something like "technical, rocky trail" so people would really know what they were getting into. This is the first time they have worked with a cruise line - most of their tours are people who are there on cycling trips.  I think most of the riders expected to be on paved roads.

Daniello, Una, and Sergio

We survived!  And we were rewarded with amazing canoli - chocolate and pistachio.

No regrets for me.  I didn't crash and it really was fun. Tough, but fun!  I hope they will be able to work the kinks out and make this a great adventure for future groups.

Do you mountain bike?  Are you a single track rider or do you prefer smoother trails?  The trail we have at home is not super technical but I would have been fine on this ride with a group of cyclists who had a little more experience.

Carbo Loading Our Way Through Italy, Greece and Turkey!

We are home from our anniversary trip.  It was amazing!  The food.  Oh, the food!  The homemade pasta, the pizza, the tomatoes and olives.  The gelato, pastries, cappuccinos and tiramisu.  And I'm still able to fit into my clothes!

The key to successful cruising is staying active!  I wore my Suunto on our excursions just out of curiosity and here's how it went:

Day 1 in Rome - walked 10.2 miles
Day 2 in Rome - walked 6.35 miles
Sicily - mountain biked 5.18 miles (this excursion will get its own post!)
Mykonos - walked 4.46 miles
Kuşadası - walked 2.73 miles
Santorini - walked 3.64 miles (we shared the footpath from the port to the town with donkeys)

700 feet of elevation gain in about a half a mile.

Athens - walked 3.91 miles
Capri - walked 3.8 miles
Final day in Rome - walked 7.39 miles - this included a stop at a local Italian bike shop!

Total 47.66 miles

This does not include any walking we did on the ship.  There were also times that I paused my watch and would forget to restart it for a few minutes.  I didn't do this to up my mileage for the year - it was more for curiosity's sake.  We always took the stairs - our stateroom was on deck 8, the Windjammer cafe was on deck 11, the Tides dining room was on deck 5, and the gangway to leave the ship was on deck 2.

Have you ever cruised?  Did you worry about weight gain?

Photo of the Week

The Mid Pacific Road Runner's Club posted pictures from last week's 10k.  I found this photo:

That guy on the right?  Twenty five years of adventures and he's still cheering me on. Not only is he running next to me, he's filming and he's carrying water and a towel for me.  What a guy!

This Week in Hawaii Kai

I'm really happy that I had a great week!

It's been a long time since I've done a weekly review.  When I am closely following a training plan I like to post the plan and how it went.  I haven't been following a plan at all but this was a great week.

Sunday - Bill Beauchamp 10k Race - Ran 6.35 miles in 1:02:34, 9:51 pace
This was a great race for me, placing 2nd in my age group.  I felt really strong the entire time.
Also did a short warm up of 0.82 miles

Monday - Walked 2.26 miles
My legs didn't feel too bad but I have some new walking shoes that I bought for our trip.  The first time I wore them I got a blister, so I've been getting out and walking in them several times a week.  I think they'll be fine.

Tuesday - Rode 11.19 miles in 1:03:38, 10.5 mph
This was a pre-work ride with Les.  We rode up "Heartbreak Hill" which I PRd.  Les took a left to go up Kamehame while I continued on to Sandy Beach (PRd that segment, too.)  I was back at the corner before Les was, so I started up Kamehame until we met.  I'm not ready to conquer that climb yet, but hopefully soon!
Also walked 2.44 miles

Wednesday - Rest day
Drove in to Waikiki to have lunch with Les.  We walked to our favorite little pizza place for lunch.  Since we both had plans to hit Tantalus on Thursday morning we decided to eat a big meal at lunch time.  This worked like a charm!  I had great energy and no GI distress on Thursday morning.
Walked 1.2 miles

Thursday - Ran 10 miles in 1:49:05, 10:55 pace.
Anytime I can run Tantalus with an average of under 11 minutes/mile I am really happy!

Friday - Rest day
My legs were sore within an hour of getting home on Thursday.  I knew I would need this rest day.

Saturday - Rode 16.49 miles in 1:14:49, 13.2 mph
My legs are still sore and I thought an easy spin was in order.  Les was meeting his cycling team in Waikiki at 7:00, so I rode the Kalanianaole Highway with him and turned back before we started the climb over Diamond Head.  There were large groups of cyclists everywhere.  They get up early and get going around here.

Totals:
Running:  17.17
Walking:  5.90
Cycling: 27.68
Total:  50.75

Tantalus Thursday

It's been quite a while since I ran Tantalus.  It was all the way back on January 16th!  Now that we don't live in Waikiki it takes a bit more planning to get up and over there before traffic is too bad.  Les wanted to ride it on his way to work this morning so I said I'd take his backpack in the car so he wouldn't have to wear it going up the mountain.  I was up and out the door around 5:15 and started running at 5:45.  My legs felt pretty good.  I had no plan and I didn't know what my previous PR was, but I did know Les and his friend Rob would be coming up behind me on their bikes so I wanted to keep moving!

I hit the five mile mark in 1:05:09, a 13:02 pace.  This is the meat of the run with almost 1500' feet of climbing.  Les and Rob caught me during mile five and I was running strong.  Of course mile six is the real killer because it descends a while then kicks back up.  I powered up that section and was feeling really good about my chances of PRing the entire loop.   I not only PRd, I crushed my previous best!    After uploading my file to Strava, I saw that I was 9th overall on the entire loop (a new PR), plus 8th overall on the descent (another PR!)  I PRd the climb and am 15th overall on it.

I beat every stat from January!  (Mile 10 was 13 seconds slower but traffic was getting heavy and I know I was trying to dodge cars.)  Today's splits:

My splits from January 16th:

Now I can really go on vacation and not worry about my fitness level!

Bill Beauchamp 10k Race Report

It was another beautiful day to race in Hawaii!  I knew I was under-trained, so my expectations were low.  The only thing I did differently from last month's Ford Island Bridge 10k was to wear both water bottles instead of just one.  I was glad to have both!  I was especially under-trained for the heat since it was in the 40s while we were home and it was in the 70s at the start yesterday morning.

It's funny how I can't remember a lot of details from my 10k races.  They kind of go by in a blur of pain.  Marathons are so long you can split them up in segments.  While the 10k isn't over that quickly, it doesn't seem like I had time to take in too many details.  Just keep running.  The scenery was pretty bland - we ran by a refinery and a homeless encampment - twice, since it was an out and back route!

This was not the scenery of my race!

I ran near a young man the entire race.  As I came in to the finishing area Les was there and ran along beside me videoing with his phone.  The video shows me just running along and a quick blue blur going by!  It was the young man, Kyle.  He is from Hawaii but is currently living in Oregon.  He beat my 3 seconds, but when I learned he was 28 to my 52, my feelings where hurt a bit!

After my last race being a bit short, this one was long!  I had 6.35 miles on my watch and my overall time was 1:02:34, 9:51 pace.  Official was 1:02:46, 10:06 pace. (This race was gun time only.)   Still good enough for second in my age group!  21/38 females, 47/89 finishers.

I learned that Kamehameha schools have certain PE requirements for their high school students.  Freshmen are required to run a 10k or swim 3k.  Sophomores must complete a 1.5 mile run/650 yard swim biathlon.  Juniors and seniors must complete two timed events - they must choose their event(10k run or 2k swim) and work with a staff member to design and follow a ten week training plan.  As you can imagine, with the school year coming to a close there were some procrastinators in the bunch!

Next up?  Vacation!  As far as running, I really want to find a 10k that I put on my calendar and actually train for!

Give me the scoop - what's your secret 10k training plan?

What's Up?

I really don't like to start a post with an apology/explanation.  I don't make any money off this blog, it's not my job, but I also know I disappeared for over a month!  Everything is fine, I've just been busy.  This seems to be my blog mode when I am not in full on training mode.  The past four weeks would have looked pretty much the same:

Ran, rode my bike, ran, rode my bike, ran...

In the middle of that we also flew home to California for a few weeks. Les then flew to Tennessee and met up with his brother for their annual Georgia Bike Camp - a week of riding and hanging out with a bunch of guys.  I enjoyed being in my own home with my own bed and my own kitchen!  I didn't run much because I left both pairs of good running shoes in Hawaii and with my size 5 feet picking up a pair at a local store never happens.  I also turned 52 while we were home.

Pre-flight ride to Makapu'u lookout

We are now back on Oahu and I've been running and riding.  Oh, and I have a 10k race on Sunday!  I'm pretty under-trained, but I still plan to run it.  $10 for club members so I couldn't pass it up.

Next up?  Les and I will celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary this month.  We're celebrating big with a two week trip to Europe!  We booked this about a year ago and I am so excited that it is finally here.  We leave on Thursday, May 19th, flying nonstop LAX to Rome.  After a few days in Rome we will meet Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas for a 9 night Greek Isles cruise.  Our first stop is Sicily and we are mountain biking up Mt. Etna!  This is our third cruise and I am really looking forward to shutting everything else off and just relaxing with Les. 

I don't really worry about gaining weight when we travel because we've always done R & R & R - rest, relaxation and recreation! We got engaged at Yosemite, after a hike, so that should have been an indication of what life with Les McElhaney was going to be like.

I said I'd follow him anywhere, I just had no idea we'd actually go everywhere!

Are you married to an adventurer/travel lover?  Best trip you've ever taken?